TORONTO —
Ice, snow and freezing rain have blanketed many parts of Canada, as winter continues to hold the country in its grasp.
Environment Canada has issued warnings covering snowfall, freezing rain, winter storms and/or extreme cold for eight provinces and one territory.
Here’s a breakdown of the weather affecting Canadians:
BRITISH COLUMBIA
The Fraser Valley in B.C. was issued a snowfall warning by Environment Canada for Tuesday, alerting drivers that 5 cm of snow was on its way, and would change to rain near noon.
Parts of Vancouver Island had their mail service suspended Monday due to snowy conditions.
Avalanche conditions in the Whistler area have resulted in two fatalities so far this ski season, and two hikers were rescued Monday after getting stuck in icy and slippery conditions on Grouse Mountain.
ALBERTA
Calgary is on its way to a gradual warmup after several consecutive days of wind chill put temperatures at -20 C and below.
Edmonton is also on its way out of a deep freeze after six straight days of highs below –20 C.
SASKATCHEWAN
Regina is also looking forward to a gradual warming after almost two weeks of deep freeze, stemming from the polar vortex that had temperatures measuring as low as -38 C.
Saskatoon also lifted its extreme cold warning for the immediate area.
MANITOBA
Extreme cold warnings were issued across 18 regions across Manitoba by Environment Canada on Tuesday, including for the city of Winnipeg, which broke cold-weather records over the weekend.
Environment Canada said temperatures of -38.8 Celsius were recorded on Feb. 13., breaking a record set in 1879.
NUNAVUT
Extreme cold warnings have been issued for the four regions of Kugaaruk, Gjoa Haven, Resolute and Taloyoak in Nunavut by Environment Canada on Tuesday,with wind chill having conditions feeling like -55 into Wednesday morning.
Environment Canada said to watch for cold-related symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, muscle pain and weakness, numbness and colour change in fingers and toes.
ONTARIO
The two regions of Fort Frances – Rainy Lake and Kenora – Nestor Falls in northern Ontario were issued extreme cold warnings by Environment Canada on Tuesday, with wind chill values of -40 continuing into Wednesday morning.
Several southern Ontario regions including Hamilton, Brockville and Niargara were issued winter storm warnings by Environment Canada on Tuesday, as the Greater Toronto Area also found itself inundated with snow.
In several districts, all schools and buses were cancelled Tuesday.
The Toronto District School Board said that all bus services were cancelled in light of the snow storm but schools would remain open, as did the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
Grey-Bruce, which includes the Blue Mountains area, was given a snowfall warning early Tuesday afternoon, with strong winds expected to gust up to 50 km/h.
Ottawa is also digging itself out after a winter storm, where Environment Canada warned up to 25cm of snow could fall before the storm finished.
QUEBEC
Vast swaths of Quebec are under both extreme cold and snowfall warnings from Environment Canada as of Tuesday, with 10 to 20 cm expected to fall across the 11 regions listed.
Several Quebec school boards are closed, with temperatures expected to drop to -23 Celsius overnight Tuesday.
THE MARITIMES
Twenty regions in New Brunswick, 24 regions in Newfoundland and Labrador, 23 regions in Nova Scotia, and three regions in P.E.I. are under warnings from Environment Canada on Tuesday as the Maritimes struggle with a winter storm.
The warnings range from snowfall (up to 30 cm in parts of New Brunswick) and winter storm conditions to freezing rain.
The Maritimes can also expect easterly winds with gusts of 30 to 50 km/h until late Wednesday afternoon.
Most of the school boards across the Maritimes cancelled both classes and buses, with some colleges and universities allowing virtual lessons to continue as scheduled, or delayed campus openings.
